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{% extends "foundation/annualreport/2021/article/base.html" %}

{% block page_title %}Changing the Internet for People, with People | The State of Mozilla{% endblock %}

{% block letter_title %}Changing the Internet for People, with People{% endblock %}

{% block letter_content %}
  <p class="byline">Ashley Boyd, VP of Advocacy</p>

  <p>
    Significant changes in our world — shifts in public opinion, public policy and products —
    often seem to happen organically, as if they were destined.
  </p>

  <p>
    Yet, those of us who devote our time or careers to advocacy know that’s not exactly how
    things unfold. Of course, there is an element of spontaneity to any movement — a stark
    moment of injustice or outrage that propels an issue into the zeitgeist, creating a
    groundswell of support. But, more commonly, a groundswell for change is developed through
    many years of research, community building and organizing that creates — and sustains —
    the momentum for change.
  </p>

  <p>
    At Mozilla, this latter part of advocacy — the research, community building and
    organizing — is core to our work. This approach is true to the values of open source, but
    applied in a different domain. Rather than gathering code contributions, we’re gathering
    data and opinions from global communities online to help us understand — and change — the
    products we all use. Like in open source, the scale and diversity of contributors is core
    to creating the value. We can only accurately “see” into tech platforms when we generate
    contributions from thousands of people around the world. We can only build ethical voice
    data sets to innovators if we include underserved languages of the world. Further, this
    approach directly upends the disempowered, non-participatory internet experience so many
    of us dislike. We’re fueling movements around online privacy and trustworthy AI for
    people and with them.
  </p>

  <p>
    This collaborative, open source approach was integral to Mozilla’s advocacy successes in
    2022. Mozilla advocacy around YouTube’s opaque recommendation AI is a prime example. For
    years, the algorithm has polarized and radicalized users. And YouTube has refused to
    provide transparency into the system. So we continued work with our <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/youtube/regretsreporter/?{{ utm_params }}">RegretsReporter</a>
    community: tens of thousands of YouTube users who have downloaded Mozilla’s browser
    extension and answered the call to become citizen scientists. This community donated their
    data, answered our interview questions, and more. And together, we <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/blog/mozilla-investigation-youtubes-dislike-button-other-user-controls-largely-fail-to-stop-unwanted-recommendations/?{{ utm_params }}">determined</a>
    that YouTube’s algorithmic controls don’t work as intended. As a result, the movement of people upset
    about YouTube’s AI grew and became more engaged — and YouTube publicly acknowledged their
    UI controls need fixing.
  </p>

  <p>
    Mozilla Common Voice is another example of advocacy through community. There’s a desperate
    need for more diverse voice data sets — currently, Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant don’t
    support a single native African language. Mozilla has been advocating for this diversity —
    and like we did with YouTube, we didn’t go it alone. Through Common Voice, we’re collecting
    voice data in a range of underserved languages, and then making it open source. In September,
    we hit a <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/blog/mozillas-common-voice-dataset-reaches-100-languages/?{{ utm_params }}">major milestone</a>:
    100 languages in the Common Voice dataset. We’re advocating for better voice technology not
    just <em>with</em> our words, but with the words of others — quite literally.
  </p>

  <p>
    One more example: Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included guide. In 2022, we released two vital
    editions: one examining the privacy and security of <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/blog/top-mental-health-and-prayer-apps-fail-spectacularly-at-privacy-security/?{{ utm_params }}">mental health apps</a>,
    and one examining the privacy and security of <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/blog/in-post-roe-v-wade-era-mozilla-labels-18-of-25-popular-period-and-pregnancy-tracking-tech-with-privacy-not-included-warning/?{{ utm_params }}">reproductive health apps</a>.
    The work that our researchers do is just one facet of the guide — the votes and comments
    from our readers add a whole other dimension. Now, in a world where online privacy has
    increasingly high stakes, people have a resource they can consult and contribute to to stay
    safe.
  </p>

  <p>
    Community participation has always been at the core of Mozilla’s work, and that approach
    applies to our advocacy, too. As we hold big tech companies accountable and push for more
    user agency online, we’re not doing it alone. We’re doing it shoulder-to-shoulder with the
    people themselves. And this is the “secret ingredient” that will create the groundswell for
    improving the internet for generations to come.
  </p>
{% endblock %}
